Bush Politics Of Fantasy And Fear In Middle East

The President of the United States opens his eyes and gazes at the silken sheets of his luxurious bed in the palace of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He reaches for a new ornament, the Order of Merit medal awarded him for bravery in ensuring the King’s nation received another $20 billion worth of new armaments. Bush and Abdullah spend a pleasant day walking on the beautiful lawns, watching people bow before the illustrious leaders of nations and then President Bush plays with his new Saudi curved sword and swipes at the air in the only combat this man will ever encounter in his life. The American president is just completing another venture in spreading the words of democracy to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most probably, the King did not discuss with the president his latest example of democratic behavior when he graciously pardoned a woman who was raped because the religous fanatics of his kingdom wanted to lash her for daring to be in the wrong place and thus got raped.

President Bush once again uttered words of warning to his Arab friends about the evil Iran which is planning to drop nuclear weapons that don’t exist just as Saddam Hussein unleashed the famous WMD that never existed. Heads nod in agreement with Bush’s rhetoric of fear and hate, and papers eventually are signed to dispatch $20 billion more of arms to a nation that could not defeat anyone if it ever came to war. The game of spending money on armaments which sit idly by continues in the Kubaki dance of let’s pretend. One can assume a smile crosses the lips of King Abdullah as the president rants on about democracy and freedom in a nation in which women are not even allowed to drive a car. For six years, Bush has been promoting the policy of democracy to nations which have absolutely no interest in democracy. The rhetoric of democracy never ceases, nor does the one person rule ever cease in the Middle East. Ironically, Iran is among the few nations of the region in which elections actually occurr.